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Research and Technology Collaboration with Brigham Young University Provides More Than $5 Million over Five Years to Research Team to Develop Rapid Diagnostic Testing for Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae

SALT LAKE CITY---The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a research grant to Great Basin Scientific (GBSN) (GBSNU) and Brigham Young University (BYU), to develop a rapid molecular diagnostic test direct from whole blood for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). The NIH research grant (R01AI116989) will play a key role in meeting the goals of President Obama’s recent National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria.

“Great Basin is delivering a rich suite of products that leverage our technology to provide low-plex, multiplex and now direct-from-specimen tests, like the one being developed with the NIH award”

The BYU-Great Basin team will utilize Great Basin’s fully disposable cartridge system requiring minimal preparation, and patented chip-based detection method to develop a multiplexed nucleic acid-based high sensitivity assay for the detection and identification of multi-drug resistant Enterobacteriaceae from whole blood.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), some CRE bacteria, generally found in hospitalized patients or residents in long-term-care facilities, have become resistant to most available antibiotics. Infections with these germs are very difficult to treat, and can be deadly, as one report cites they can contribute to death in up to 50 percent of patients who become infected.

“One of the strengths of Great Basin’s molecular platform is our ability to detect direct from unpurified clinical specimen, a capability that was critical to our success in securing this grant from the NIH,” said Robert Jenison, Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Technology Officer of Great Basin. “By avoiding time-consuming sample purification and multiplex limitations of traditional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, we are working towards offering better clinical outcomes for those infected with CRE and other deadly superbugs – especially critical given the rising incidence of CRE outbreaks like those we saw recently in California. We are thrilled about our collaboration with BYU and look forward to delivering this first of many direct-from-specimen tests on the Great Basin platform.”

Per the NIH grant guidelines, the research team plans to demonstrate identification of bacteria in a whole blood specimen within one hour. The initial focus of the test will be to detect and characterize Enterobacteriaceae isolated directly from a blood sample. The researchers chose this specific bacterial target as bloodstream infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae have become increasingly problematic in the U.S. The test method, without PCR amplification requirement, has a simplified workflow and greater multiplex capabilities, and the platform developed by the researchers will be readily expandable to additional pathogens and their relevant antibiotic-resistant genes.

“Great Basin is delivering a rich suite of products that leverage our technology to provide low-plex, multiplex and now direct-from-specimen tests, like the one being developed with the NIH award,” said Great Basin co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Ashton. “In addition to this direct-from-specimen test for CRE, we are also in early stage development for a test that identifies Candida species direct from whole blood specimen, without the 24-hour culture step most molecular tests currently require. We are confident this broad platform of tests and panels will become powerful tools that help our hospital customers treat their patients more quickly and accurately, leading to better patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs.”

About Great Basin Scientific

Great Basin Scientific is a molecular diagnostics company that commercializes breakthrough chip-based technologies. The Company is dedicated to the development of simple, yet powerful, sample-to-result technology and products that provide fast, multiple-pathogen diagnoses of infectious diseases. The Company’s vision is to make molecular diagnostic testing so simple and cost-effective that every patient will be tested for every serious infection, reducing misdiagnoses and significantly limiting the spread of infectious disease. More information can be found on the Company’s website at www.gbscience.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding our potential future growth. Forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially. These risk and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (i) our limited operating history and history or losses; (ii) our ability to develop and commercialize new products and the timing of commercialization; (iii) our ability to obtain capital when needed; and (iv) other risks set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and Great Basin Scientific specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Disclaimer

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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